Dir. Duncan Jones US 2008
Director Jones (a.k.a. Zowie Bowie, son of David) nods to seminal sci-fi films 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Outland (1981) and Blade Runner (1982) in this refreshing alternative to bloated-budget space epics. Sam Rockwell (Choke) plays a lonely astronaut nearing the end of a contract with a mining company operating on the far side of the moon. Isolated for nearly three years with only a service robot named GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey), Sam is desperate to be reunited with his family on Earth. Suddenly, just shy of his scheduled departure date, very odd things start happening. The mystery at the heart of the film unfolds slowly and rewards viewers with a complex, nuanced narrative; a satisfying contrast to the quick-cutting bombast which has diminished contemporary cinematic attention spans. (97m)